Author Topic: RADA sharpener (Read 11845 times)

Rob DiStefano · « **Reply #40 on:** July 12, 2018, 06:30:57 PM »

the rada and others like it have been around forever and are clearly viable assets for most bowhunters. there are a lotta good ways to skin a cat (or kill a critter), and for most of us the rada and the kme are good tools to have in the pack and in the workshop.

awry · « **Reply #41 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:03:56 AM »

Quote from: nmiller08 on July 12, 2018, 12:39:33 PM

Quote from: Tony Van Dort on July 11, 2018, 06:56:46 PM
If your desire is to share with the "Gang", post some pics of your hunting success...

Seems to me he offered an opinion on a sharpener that the OP was asking for opinions on. Just because other posters disagree doesn't mean he should keep it to himself, polite disagreement is good and worth being shared too

Totally agree
Honestly not seeing what all the fuss is about

Rob DiStefano · « **Reply #42 on:** July 13, 2018, 05:44:36 AM »

Quote from: awry on July 13, 2018, 12:03:56 AM

Quote from: nmiller08 on July 12, 2018, 12:39:33 PM
Quote from: Tony Van Dort on July 11, 2018, 06:56:46 PM
If your desire is to share with the "Gang", post some pics of your hunting success...

Seems to me he offered an opinion on a sharpener that the OP was asking for opinions on. Just because other posters disagree doesn't mean he should keep it to himself, polite disagreement is good and worth being shared too

Totally agree
Honestly not seeing what all the fuss is about

you haven't seen what happened outside of this thread.

disagreeing is not only perfectly fine, it's good and healthy.

saying that your way is better than mine and my way is wrong is, well, being argumentative and stupid.

and when yer host tells you to please be cool and you fail to listen, yer out.

ron w · « **Reply #43 on:** July 13, 2018, 07:23:01 AM »

Opinions are like arm pits......everyone has a couple. Some like this tool, some don't, that's why there are many methods to get the same job done. I do know that the bear in my Avartar was killed with a rada sharpened head and he died in 10-12 seconds. Shot placement, sharp broadhead......maybe both.....??? Whatever works for you to have a fruitful hunt..........

Terry Lightle · « **Reply #44 on:** July 13, 2018, 07:46:51 AM »

I use and sell the Rada,I like the rough wire edge that will shave,to each his own.If you do not like something so be it blood on the ground is blood on the ground and dead is dead however you get there.Just get there however you like best.
Terry

pavan · « **Reply #45 on:** July 13, 2018, 02:22:54 PM »

It is no secret, I like the the Tom Mussato edge. I use slightly different tools for the same affect. The RADA can give a nice base to start with, some light passes with a diamond hone will clean the edge up a little, then with a file that has the safety edge with the row of file teeth exposed, can give a nice clean zippered edge. A super light pass over the RADA will take off the loose stuff and leave the Mussato like cutting teeth in place. I find it very difficult to judge penetration and effectiveness on deer, between shaving sharp and serrated sharp, when the arrows fly through, blood comes out of the deer and the deer goes down in less than 100 yards. Perhaps the hardness of the metal would be a better gauge for choosing one sharpening system to another. I have had some 140 Hill heads that were so hard that a file would just get shiny when trying to sharpen them, I used a clamp and a Dremel tool on those and got a very pretty fish scale edge that would easily cut hair, I got a pass through with a 37 pound Hill on a big doe with those. Not preaching about bow weight, I tore a muscle working out and that is as heavy a bow as i could shoot that year.

SuperK · « **Reply #46 on:** July 13, 2018, 04:20:28 PM »

After reading this post, I conducted a very simple test. I took a Zwickey Delta 2 edge broadhead and sharpened one edge with a file. It would cut hair but don't try to shave with it. It grabs so bad it will cut you quick! The other edge I sharpened on a Lansky (sp?) at 25 degrees. It will shave you cleanly without any problem. I then went outside and shot the broadhead into a foam broadhead target. After each shot I checked the edge. On the 10th shot, I shot low and hit a compressed hay bale. After this shot, the edge on the honed side had rolled over and was as sharp as a marble. The filed edge still had enough "bite" to catch on your thumbnail. Maybe the durability of the edge we use is what we need to focus on.

Tedd · « **Reply #47 on:** July 14, 2018, 09:06:03 AM »

I've never been able to get a head as sharp with a RADA as I can with other methods. But it is pretty darn close. I have had a RADA 6 months or so. I'll pack it to Wyoming this fall. But prep the heads at home with another method most likely.
Last night I played around trying the RADA on a 3 blade VPA. I don't know if it's designed for that but it did work pretty good. I had it shaving then went for a little sharper and it got duller

. The VPA seems to yield a smoother edge when sharpened with a RADA then say a Zwickey.

Tedd

Yooper-traveler · « **Reply #48 on:** July 14, 2018, 10:46:07 AM »

I actually taught my wife to sharpen kitchen knives with a RADA. Not that she actually does, but sho could

I keep a RADA in my archery box as I’m always using it. Still use my KME a lot as well.

Tedd · « **Reply #49 on:** July 14, 2018, 01:03:42 PM »

On a convex Tree Shark I can get it sharper with a RADA. But i changed my mind on previous statement - I just sharpened a 3 blade VPA using file, 3 stages of diamond stones, leather strop. Took 5 minutes. It's far sharper than I can make it with a RADA.
Tedd

pavan · « **Reply #50 on:** July 14, 2018, 02:38:45 PM »

I can make a Grizzly shaving sharp pretty quick with a file, a diamond hone and a leather belt. If the RADA is held steady on something firm, I get a razor edge on the Grizzly using the RADA in place of the file. I do need to hold the head at the proper angle of course, but it it will work. I just used the RADA on my custom fishing knife, (made to bend just right when filleting a 13" smallmouth bass on a canoe paddle). About 6 light strokes at just the right fore/aft pitch and a few swipes on my old leather belt and it is a smooth hair cutting edge. I usually need to place the RADA on a firm surface to get the best out of it. I decided to turn mine into a pocket friendly model, so I ordered a new one. My plan is to cut off the angled base and make a short handle with a slit on the end to glue the RADA onto. Question: would it work better off to the side or inline?

madmaxthc · « **Reply #51 on:** September 01, 2018, 10:54:43 AM »

Quote from: RGKulas on July 11, 2018, 09:19:30 AM

I hate to be a contrarian but since broadhead sharpening is my business (as well as being a knife maker) and collector of knife and broadhead sharpeners and the owner of magnified imagery tools, I can tell you there is a good reason NONE (ZERO) knife and broadhead and razor blade manufacturers sharpen the blades they make in the direction a Rada or other "V" shaped sharpeners do. All knife and broadhead and razor blade makers sharpen/hone perpendicular to the cutting edge, not parallel to the cutting edge.

If you looked (under magnification) at the edge produced by a Rada or any of the other "v" shaped "drag through" sharpeners, you would understand what they very rough and jagged edge looks like vs a correctly honed and razor sharp edge.

I understand the appeal of the rada type sharpeners (especially on concave heads like Simons sharks, etc) because they require no skill to use and they are fast but the edge they produce has little longevity and is as jagged as the top of a tuna can (which is why you feel and hear the "chattering" as you drag your blade through the rada.

The jagged edge produced by a Rada “V” drag through sharpener edge (parallel to the cutting edge)

A honed edge (perpendicular to cutting edge)

Hi, RGKulas,

I was wondering what you think of diamond stones vs "normal" stones? I mean, diamond ones are mach harder and require very light pressure, but I was wondering if you think they will do the job alright, as long as it's a parallel to the edge system, rather than a perpendicular to the edge one.

DanielB89 · « **Reply #52 on:** September 01, 2018, 11:53:51 AM »

When I first got the Simmons broadhead I couldn’t get any of them sharp at all. I wouldn’t have considered myself sharpening illiterate, but I just couldn’t get the cpmcave head sharp until I let PDK25 at a
Hog hunt. Thanks to him teaching me the proper way to sharpen the head, I can get them sharp. In the video posted in the bow to on the first page, I did do it exactly like he taught, but it’s still efficient.

FWIW: I own the KME with all the necessary accessories for the Simmons but I couldn’t get them as sharp as I would like. I know the KME does a much better quality finish than the RADA, but it takes me longer to do 1 on the KME than it does to do 3/4 on the RADA. You can also use the RADA in the field easily.

pdk25 · « **Reply #53 on:** September 01, 2018, 12:16:09 PM »

Good luck hunting this upcoming season, with whatever you decide to use to sharpen your broadheads.

bigbadjon · « **Reply #54 on:** September 01, 2018, 12:23:15 PM »

As an alternative to the Rada I have used The Block sharpener. The downside vs the rada is that you have to manually hold it on a tables edge. The plus side is it flat grinds the edge giving you a better substrate to hand sharpen if you want to go further.

Sam McMichael · « **Reply #55 on:** September 01, 2018, 04:35:03 PM »

It's kinda funny how many variations of this same type topic come up around here. Yet, the results are always about the same. This type product (RADA) gets arrows sharp enough to kill deer. Stones and a leather strop get arrows sharp enough to kill deer. Diamond sharpeners also get arrows sharp enough to kill deer. Still, the debate goes on, and every body continually insists that his chosen procedure is the pinnacle of technology. Does it really matter? If you stick a deer and he bleeds to death quickly, then, at that particular moment, whatever sharpening method used is the "perfect" solution.

goingoldskool · « **Reply #56 on:** September 01, 2018, 04:38:09 PM »

Quote from: Sam McMichael on September 01, 2018, 04:35:03 PM

It's kinda funny how many variations of this same type topic come up around here. Yet, the results are always about the same. This type product (RADA) gets arrows sharp enough to kill deer. Stones and a leather strop get arrows sharp enough to kill deer. Diamond sharpeners also get arrows sharp enough to kill deer. Still, the debate goes on, and every body continually insists that his chosen procedure is the pinnacle of technology. Does it really matter? If you stick a deer and he bleeds to death quickly, then, at that particular moment, whatever sharpening method used is the "perfect" solution.

Very true!

Tajue17 · « **Reply #57 on:** September 02, 2018, 08:42:12 AM »

Quote from: RGKulas on July 11, 2018, 09:19:30 AM

I hate to be a contrarian but since broadhead sharpening is my business (as well as being a knife maker) and collector of knife and broadhead sharpeners and the owner of magnified imagery tools, I can tell you there is a good reason NONE (ZERO) knife and broadhead and razor blade manufacturers sharpen the blades they make in the direction a Rada or other "V" shaped sharpeners do. All knife and broadhead and razor blade makers sharpen/hone perpendicular to the cutting edge, not parallel to the cutting edge.

If you looked (under magnification) at the edge produced by a Rada or any of the other "v" shaped "drag through" sharpeners, you would understand what they very rough and jagged edge looks like vs a correctly honed and razor sharp edge.

I understand the appeal of the rada type sharpeners (especially on concave heads like Simons sharks, etc) because they require no skill to use and they are fast but the edge they produce has little longevity and is as jagged as the top of a tuna can (which is why you feel and hear the "chattering" as you drag your blade through the rada.

The jagged edge produced by a Rada “V” drag through sharpener edge (parallel to the cutting edge)

A honed edge (perpendicular to cutting edge)

I wasn't happy with the rada either if anything I had to use a the simmons ceramic rods heavily after the rada to get the edge close to what I liked..

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